2002 Chevy Impala RUNNING HOT

MOMDEUCE

MEMBER

2002 CHEVROLET IMPALA

Engine Cooling problem
2002 Chevy Impala 184564 miles

my car was running hot but when you poppe d the hood you didn't feel any heat. Had the radiator changed. Worked fine but then after a couple of days it stated that the coolant was low. Added more coolant now it says hot coolant temperature and runs heavy. What could be the problem

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Thursday, September 4th, 2008 AT 6:13 PM

1 Reply

RENAUDTN

MEMBER

What do you mean by 'run heavy'?

If you have to add coolant regularly, that means you have a leak somewhere.

Was your coolant level really low when your message center told you 'low coolant'. You could have a bad sensor.

When your car is running hot, there are a few possibilities including:

-low coolant (add coolant) which in a lot of cases means.
-. Leaks in the cooling system (pray for an external leak and not an internal one): pressure test the cooling system. If pressure OK, then the problem is elsewhere. You should also visually inspect your cooling system for leaks (preferably with engine running because it makes the leaks easier to detect).
Do you have a lot of white smoke coming out of your tailpipe? Do you have coolant in your oil? That would suggest.
-.A blown/leaky gasket (head gasket usually). I hope for you it's not the case. A compression test should tell you if it's the case.
-defective thermostat (stuck closed). Turn on your car and let it run until it reaches normal operating temp. Feel the top radiator hose with your hand. If it doesn't get hot, replace thermostat.
-defective water pump (usually it's leaking, especially when car is running): replace it.
-defective radiator (probably not in your case since you replaced it).
-Defective radiator cap (weak spring): the cap can't hold the pressure. Replace it.
-Sometime, you can have clogged waterjackets or a clogged hose.
-defective electrical fans (make sure fans come on when they're supposed to).
-Although it is more rare, sometime your serpentine belt is slipping on your waterpump pulley, which prevent the waterpump from working properly. Check belt tension. If tension too low, replace belt and/or belt tensioner.
-Defective sending unit (sensor). Make sure your sensor is working well. You can hook an autoscanner to your car and check the temperature received by your pcm (usually anywhere from 195 to 212 F). Compare this temperature with the temperature you get from an infrared thermometer at the thermostat housing (which is where your sensor is located on this model I believe although I'm not 100% positive). If the two temp are very different, your sensor is probably bad. If the temp are about the same, but your gauge reads high, you probably have a bad gauge, or a problem in the wiring.